William Ruto, the deputy president, and Rigathi Gachagua, his running mate, have had their right to run for office called into doubt. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has petitioned the Supreme Court to reject the case.
The case brought against Ruto and Gachagua has been supported by the commission as being flawed.
In its objection to the lawsuit brought by the 11 petitioners, who are represented by Kenneth Njagi and Meshack Suba, the commission claims that the Supreme Court has the authority to uphold or invalidate candidate nominations in a broad sense.
The commission asserts that the court will interfere with the IEBC’s function because of the integrity problem brought up by the petitioners.
In their joint response, Ruto and Gachagua claim that because the criminal and forfeiture charges against the latter (Gachagua) have not yet been adjudicated by the court, the pair cannot be disqualified until Gachagua has exhausted all appeals.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) leaders claim that because the election has already taken place, the case has already been decided. They contend that it should wait until the results are finalized and a winner is named.
Through their attorney Kibe Mungai, the petitioners contend that the IEBC failed to investigate Gachagua to see if he is qualified to serve as Ruto’s deputy.
Kibe contends that if the pair is chosen to form the next government, there will probably be a catastrophe.
